Beyond Organic

Organic meat, poultry, and dairy products are now available
at your supermarket, which is a change for the better. When you see the organic
label, you know the food is going to be free of pesticide residues, synthetic
hormones, genetically modified organisms, and a long list of questionable additives.
You also have the satisfaction of knowing that raising animals organically
causes less harm to the environment. But when it comes to animal production,
organic is not enough. We need to be raising animals on their species-appropriate
diets.

Few consumers realize that many producers of "organic"
or "naturally raised" animal products, raise their animals in confinement
and feed them grain---just like the operators of conventional feedlots. Feeding
large amounts of grain to a grazing animal decreases the nutritional value
of its products whether the grain is organic or conventionally raised.The
reason is simple. Compared with grass, grain has far fewer omega-3 fatty acids
and vitamin E.(1) Therefore, grainfed
animals have fewer of these important nutrients in their meat and dairy products.
Grainfeeding also interferes with the creation of a cancer-fighting fight called
conjugated linoleic acid or CLA.(2) I
A test by an independent lab determined that milk from one of the largest organic
grain-fed dairies had no more omega-3 fatty acids or CLA than milk from ordinary
dairies. Similarly, meat from organic grain-fed beef has the same nutritional
profile as meat from the largest Kansas feedlot.

The same story holds true for organic but confinement-raised
poultry. Their meat and eggs have no more omega-3s or vitamin E than the products
you find in the supermarket.(3) (Unless
the birds are given special supplements along with the grain.)

For many consumers, food safety is an even bigger concern
than nutrition. Once again, grass feeding offers an important advantage. It
has been known for decades that grain feeding makes a cow's digestive tract
more acid. Now we know that this acidic environment speeds the growth of potentially
dangerous E. coli bacteria and, even worse, makes
the bugs more acid-resistant. Alarmingly, these acid-resistant bacteria are
much more likely to survive the cleansing acidity of our own digestive juices
and make us ill. (4)

Depriving our livestock of fresh greens and vastly increasing
their consumption of grain has jeopardized our health in ways people never
imagined. Although feeding organically raised grain reduces our reliance on
pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, it does not provide the food
that nature intended us to eat.

Jo Robinson is a New York Times bestselling writer.
She is the author or coauthor of 11 nationally published books including
Pasture Perfect, which is a comprehensive overview of the benefits of choosing
products from pasture-raised animals, and The Omega Diet (with Dr. Artemis
Simopoulos) that describes an omega-3 enriched Mediterranean diet that may
be the healthiest eating program of all. To order her books or learn more
about grassfed products, visit http://eatwild.com.